I Need a Hero: The Radical Origin of the Heroic Ideal
My PhD considers Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the most charismatic figures in history, and the problems he poses to the poets of his day. The core question these poets ask is what to make of this man? Is he a hero, or a villain? This is a question we keep asking ourselves. Our culture is inundated with heroes – perhaps to the point of oversaturation – from the next big Marvel film, the next TV show or video game from DC, and the non-stop speculation about which characters will appear in the next blockbuster. Our generation has grown up with superheroes, so perhaps it is no wonder that our current obsession seems to be to critique and deconstruct the hero, giving rise to films and shows like Invincible or Injustice that ask the questions: What if superheroes were evil and corrupt? What if the villains or antiheroes were the main characters? The question behind these questions, at the heart of our cultural moment, is what is it that makes a hero? The answer, I think, regardless of w